‘Happy and glorious’ Olympic Opening Ceremonies

As if on cue, the sunshine disappeared Friday morning and the more familiar gray sky settled over the city just in time for the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremonies. It made the perfect backdrop for the idyllic British pastures that covered the Olympic Stadium infield for the first act of the three-and-a-half-hour, $42 million spectacle.

A television audience of 1 billion and a stadium crowd of 80,000 — including Queen Elizabeth II, royal couple William and Kate, 120 heads of state, and Michelle Obama — watched as the show shifted from what poet William Blake called “England’s green and pleasant land” to the “dark Satanic mills” of the Industrial Revolution to “happy and glorious.”

The extravaganza, the brainchild of Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle, was as moving as it was entertaining.

It had everything from music by Queen to The Queen making her acting debut in a James Bond flick to a fabulous “Hey Jude” sing-a-long with ex-Beatle Paul McCartney. The ceremony paid tribute to British history, literature, film and music. It featured stirring choirs from each of the British isles, Shakespeare poetry, 89 farm animals, giant inflatable yellow submarines, synthetic clouds, 32 Mary Poppinses flying into the stadium on umbrellas, 320 hospital beds, and a hilarious Chariots of Fire spoof by Rowan (Mr. Bean) Atkinson.

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On a night of many surprises, the biggest of all was Queen Elizabeth II parachuting into the ceremony from a helicopter with James Bond actor Daniel Craig. Well, not exactly. It was a four-and-a-half minute film featuring Her Majesty and Craig getting into a helicopter at Buckingham Palace, and a pair of stunt doubles parachuting into the stadium.

Guarded secret

The other well-guarded secret was who would light the cauldron and where. Unlike Olympics past, there was no cauldron structure in the stadium. The answer came after midnight. Soccer star David Beckham brought the torch to the stadium by boat from the Tower Bridge. Sir Steve Redgrave, the Olympic rowing legend, then carried the flame through 500 construction workers who worked on transforming the previously-run down East End into Olympic Park.

Seven British Olympic heroes including decathlete Daley Thompson ran alongside Redgrave and were joined by seven young athletes commemorating the future. Muhammad Ali then entered to join the ceremony. The young athletes moved to the center of the field and ignited a tiny flame on a copper petal — each of the 204 delegations got one upon entering the stadium. That one flame ignited the 203 others, and created a giant “flame of unity.”

Seven years and $14 billion after winning the bid for these Olympics, Londoners finally got to relax, celebrate and forget — at least for one night — about the traffic disruptions and security concerns.

The day began with bells of all kinds ringing over Great Britain at exactly 8:12 a.m. to commemorate 12 hours until 20:12. Even Big Ben joined in, ringing its bell off schedule for the first time in 60 years. A light drizzle fell throughout the morning, but the weather cleared by mid-afternoon.

Ringing the bell

Cyclist Bradley Wiggins, who last week became the first Brit to win the Tour de France, rung a giant ceremonial bell at the stadium at 9 p.m. local time to get the festivities started.

The ceremony opened with scenes from the British countryside — cottages, famers tilling the soil, families picnicking, and cricket matches. For those keeping score, there were 40 sheep, 12 horses, three cows, two goats, 10 chickens, 10 ducks, nine geese, and three sheep dogs. Lines from Shakespeare’s The Tempest (“The isle is full of noises’’) were read by Branagh.

From there, the mood got darker. Smokestacks rose from the ground, machinery covered the field, and performers were dressed as miners and steel workers.

The third part of the show began with the entrance of The Queen. That was followed by a tribute to the National Health Service, cherished by Brits, especially as spending has recently been cut. Dancers pushed 320 hospital beds into the stadium and spelled out GOSH (Great Ormond Street Hospital), a children’s hospital to which Peter Pan creator J.M. Barrie bequeathed his royalties.

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Harry Potter author JK Rowling then read passages from Peter Pan, and Mary Poppinses rained down from the sky on umbrellas.

The show got an injection of humor from actor Atkinson, who showed up unexpectedly in the orchestra and began daydreaming of running in the famous Chariots of Fire beach scene.

Music stars

Music from The Who, Rolling Stones, Beatles, and Kinks were featured throughout.

The parade of 204 nations began with Greece, as Olympic birthplace always the first to enter the stadium. It ended two hours later with host Great Britain. The U.S. delegation of 529 wore preppy Ralph Lauren suits that caused some controversy because they were Made in China. The flag-bearer was fencer Mariel Zagunis — appropriate in this first Olympics ever in which every team includes female athletes.

“This is the best feeling any athlete could ever experience in his career,” Djokovic said. “The Opening Ceremony of an Olympic Games only happens every four years and we are alongside other athletes from all around the world, in the best event in the world. I’m representing a whole country and the 115 [Serbian] athletes who came to London.”

There were two moments of silence, one for victims of “all wars’’ and one for audience members’ loved ones. International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge stuck with his decision not to hold a minute of silence for the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches killed by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Munich Games. The victims’ families, Jewish groups and politicians in United States, Israel and Germany, and NBC commentator Bob Costas, had lobbied for a memorial on the 40th anniversary of the tragedy.

Rogge led a minute of silence in the Athletes Village on Monday, will attend a private ceremony during the Games, and will take part in a commemoration on the 40th anniversary on Sept. 5 at the Munich airport where most of the Israelis died.

“We have always commemorated and will continue to commemorate the memory of the killed athletes,” he said.

The Queen declared the Games open and Rogge said he is “very optimistic” for these Olympics.

“In a sense, the Olympic Games are coming home tonight,” Rogge said. “This great, sports-loving country is widely recognized as the birthplace of modern sport. The British approach to sport had a profound influence on Pierre de Coubertin, our founder. .those values will come to life over the next 17 days.”